Its all girl power as Light Edge expands into Nelspruit

Mpumalanga capital, Nelspruit, is to be the location of Light Edge`s sixth Southern African office and the second office to be opened this year. Once again the company has chosen to appoint a female leadership team to get the job done. The office will be in operation by September 2004 with long time Light Edge employee, Theresa Adcock, as the branch manager.

Nelspruit is a strategic position for Light Edge as it offers the opportunity to work closely with the established dealer market within the region as well as with the rapidly expanding Mozambique territory. Grant Poulton, managing director of Light Edge says, "We realised that our Johannesburg office was not able to adequately service our customers in this region and this was not acceptable. Rather than put undue pressure on our already very busy Joburg team we decided to open a local branch and focus on realising the long term growth potential of this area."

Light Edge has achieved an average of 25% year-on-year turnover growth in the past three years. "This growth has translated into rising dealer demand for regional support and faster access to our range. Their requirements have, in turn, driven our decision to expand and which locations to target, "says Poulton.

When discussing why Light Edge chose to place a woman in the position of branch manager, Poulton comments that all of Light Edge`s branch offices are headed up by women. "I wouldn`t call it a policy, more of a preference. In my experience I find that women are better at sharing information which is vital, particularly in the start-up phase of an office, that their people management is better and commitment to team objectives more powerful. It is a formula that has worked very well for us in the past, as you can see by our overall success," he concludes.